


Reunion

by TorScrawls



Series: Cohabitation [3]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Ghouls are part of society, Identity Reveal, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 19:26:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17731199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TorScrawls/pseuds/TorScrawls
Summary: Amon often found himself thinking back to the time he had fought a ghoul who seemed much more human than he had been prepared for.Years, and a reformation of society later Amon meets up with the same ghoul again. But maybe the memory he had held on to for so long doesn't match up with reality anymore. Will he walk away from this encounter with any of his questions answered? Or will he not walk away at all?





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of an ongoing series but can be read separately. The earlier works provide some explanation for the au, though. If you're curious :)

Amon panted as he straightened up, tightening the grip on his quinque.

The ghoul in front of him was crying as she lunged at him— kagune nowhere to be seen, but kakugan blaring in the relative darkness of the alleyway. Amon stepped quickly out of the way and brought his quinque down on her back. Hard.

The ghoul screamed as she fell to the ground.

It was quite a while since Amon had learnt that there were more to ghouls than just monstrosity and bloodlust. He desperately wished for his old mindset as he gritted his teeth and brought the quinque down again; cutting her screams short.

He did what he could to make these missions fast and painless— ghouls that broke the law and threatened the peace for the rest of them still needed to be taken care of.

Amon straightened up and looked down on the fallen woman. She had allegedly been seen attacking an elderly lady just a few blocks from here. Amon hoped that the accusations were true.

Aggressive ghoul attacks had become more and more rare over the years since the reformation that made ghouls, in practice, legal, but they still happened. As long as ghouls stayed inconspicuous and didn't show their kagunes or kakugans to humans, things went smoothly. The problem was that it hadn't taken people long to realize that when word stood against word, humans tended to come out on top.

Amon had learned a frightening amount of just how monstrous humans could be, especially when egged on by fear and deep-rooted prejudices. He had been in that situation himself not too long ago, before a meeting with a certain ghoul made him start to question everything he thought he knew.

Amon sighed and turned to walk away, only to stop in his tracks. After spending more than half his life in the CCG, he had learned to trust his gut when it came to these sorts of things, and right now it was telling him that there were more things to worry about than the dead woman on the ground.

Amon slowly turned back around and wasn't entirely surprised when he came face to face with two people, standing around the fallen woman.

One of them fell to their knees beside her and Amon heard her start sobbing; low and deep and heart wrenching. "Why? Why did you kill her? She never harmed anyone!"

Amon kept quiet. There was nothing he could say now that would help ease their pain and he didn't want to risk aggravating anything. He didn't want to have to spill more blood that night.

The woman who was still standing had noticeable muscles, even in the dark, and growled in a low voice as she released a big and twisting koukaku, "You shouldn't have done that."

"Stand down," Amon said in a calm voice. "I don't want to hurt you too."

"You didn't seem to have a problem with hurting people just now!" The crying woman said in an angry voice as she too got to her feet while rubbing at her eyes, a bikaku extending from underneath her jacket, whipping angrily at the air as she joined the koukaku in her advance on Amon. "You didn't even wait to listen to her. To let her explain."

Amon raised his quinque in front of him with a painfully hard grip on the handle, the kagunes in front of him were against the law. He could no longer try to de-escalate the situation. "There was nothing to explain. She broke the law and showed her kakugan."

"You don't even care, do you?" The koukaku asked with a voice dripping venom, the kagune coiling up at her side. "You monsters are all talk with your reforms and change, but it's just an excuse to lure us out and kill us all, isn't it? Isn't it?!"

Amon hesitated for a second, unsure of how to respond to that— unsure if he  _had_  a response to that, and it proved to be a second too long. The bikaku reached into her pocket and brought out a container. Amon has time to think that he didn't recognize it before she threw it on the ground and it exploded. There was smoke everywhere.

The koukaku turned to her companion with a smile on her face, "We had one of them left? Nice!"

The smoke cleared quickly and left no smell behind, but Amon shook his head to try and get rid of a sudden headache. He coughed and kept his eyes on the two ghouls in front of him— whatever had been in that container, he would have to do his best. He would fight and he would win. There wasn't any choice.

The two ghouls had stopped in their advance, and Amon frowned as he took in their expectant faces as they watched him. Well, if they didn't come to him, then he would have to come to them. Amon took a step in their direction and almost fell to the ground— legs shaking with the simple effort of holding himself upright. His arms felt impossibly heavy and his quinque dipped dangerously low; exposing him to attacks.

Then the whole world seemed to tilt.

Amon took a staggering step to try and right himself, but only succeeded in stumbling to the side— quinque dropping further.

Amon felt cold dread wash over him. What was happening?

"Not so fun on the receiving end, is it?" The koukaku asked in a condescending tone as the two of them started walking towards him again, this time with smiles on their faces. Amon shook his head to try and clear it, but it only resulted in the world tilting even more.

"What did you—?"

The bikaku's smile morphed into a sneer. "Not so tough now, are you?"

"What did you do to me?"

"Did you seriously believe that ghouls wouldn't create their own version of RC-suppressant gas?" The bikaku asked with a sneer. "As if we would just sit back and wait for you to wipe us out."

Amon blinked hard to try and clear his swimming vision. The thing they had used on him was like RC-suppressant gas, but for humans? Was that even possible? His spinning head and weak arms told him that yes; it was possible, and yes; he might have underestimated the level of threat the two ghouls in front of him posed.

They were a handful of meters away from him when something suddenly blocked his view. It took Amon a second to realize what it was— someone had stepped into the alleyway, right in between Amon and the attacking ghouls.

Something clicked in Amon's addled brain— right  _in_   _between_ Amon and the attacking ghouls— and he looked over the person's shoulder and saw the shape of a coiled up koukaku, ready to strike. He had no way of knowing whether this was another ghoul, or simply a human that had accidentally stumbled into the alleyway at the wrong time.

Without hesitation, Amon dove for the newcomer; managing to grab their arm and drag them behind him with the last remnants of his strength. "Watch out. It's dangerous!"

He raised his quinque in front of them and winced as two kagunes struck it at once— sending it flying from his weak grip.

He cast a quick look at the young man behind him to make sure that he was alright and came upon a face devoid of surprise or fear. The dread flared into panic as Amon suddenly realized that the person in his grip hadn't so much as flinched at the ghouls' attack. Maybe  _not_ an innocent bystander then.

" _There are many things you will learn, but in the end; trust in your instincts_ ," Mado's words played in his mind and Amon let go of the young man as if burned, taking a quick step back. His hands felt painfully empty as he grasped at the air at his side, sending a look down the alley to where his quinque lay on the ground— out of reach.

Amon wasn't a stranger to fighting without a weapon; it was something he had made sure of, but it didn't make much of a difference when he could barely stay on his feet.

He didn't know where his quinque had landed after getting knocked out of his hand, but he doubted that he would be able to get to it before the young man reached him. He sent a quick look down the alley and noticed that the two attacking ghouls had backed off—watching them from further down the alley and looking at the newcomer with obvious suspicion.

So he wasn't one of them after all.

"Please run," the young man said as he stepped out from behind Amon, keeping his eyes on the two ghouls who were now talking amongst themselves— gesturing wildly between Amon and the newcomer.

Amon opened his mouth to argue before stopping short, looking down at the young man in front of him in surprise— doing his best to focus his swimming vision. "What did you say?"

"Please run!" the young man repeated, and this time it was his turn to grab Amon's arm as he tried to tug him back and away from the two ghouls. Amon wasn't moving, frozen in place and deaf to the pleading of the young man in front of him and the ghouls talking animatedly a short distance away.

He had heard those exact words before, in that exact voice. Amon looked closer at the young man in front of him; fairly slight frame, white hair, and big and innocent eyes. Grey eyes. He recognized those eyes.  _Please don't make me a killer._

This was the ghoul he had met during the Rabbit-case, the ghoul that had opened his eyes to some of the truths in the world.  _Eyepatch._

The very same ghoul— no, same  _person_ — was now helping him against two enraged ghouls that wanted him dead, risking his life for him. He was sure that this time it wasn't only the gas that made it feel like the whole world was tilting.

"It's you," Amon breathed out.

"Come on! Move!" Eyepatch said again, tugging at his arm and seemingly not hearing what he had said. No, not young man— young  _ghoul_. But was there a difference? Amon's addled brain tried to come up with a reason as to why that mattered.

"You're a ghoul," Amon said under his breath, not fully realizing he had said it out loud until he saw Eyepatch freeze. Eyepatch looked over his shoulder at Amon with wide eyes, then down the alleyway and back, loosening his grip on Amon's arm in time with the rising panic in his eyes.

The sounds of approaching footsteps from their attackers seemed to snap him out of his indecisiveness and Eyepatch tightened his grip on Amon's arm again— a determined look replacing the scared one. Eyepatch shook his head before gritting his teeth, "I'm sorry, but I'm going get you out of here."

Amon did his best to keep his feet under him as he was suddenly dragged through the alleyway; all earlier pretenses from the other of not being strong enough to bodily move Amon dropped. If you had asked Amon when he was young whether he would ever trust a ghoul he would have called you crazy. Yet here he was— stumbling behind Eyepatch with trembling legs and no doubt in his mind that the other would do his best to help him.

The sounds of the two approaching ghouls got louder and Amon fought the overwhelming instinct to turn around and see how far away they were; instead focusing on doing his best to stay upright. The koukaku suddenly shot past them; effectively cutting them off by embedding itself into the wall in front of them.

Eyepatch didn't seem surprised as he stopped their escape with a sigh, dropping Amon's arm as he did. Amon could have sworn he heard a muttered, "Well, here we go."

The bikaku laughed as she came to a halt a couple of meters away from Amon and Eyepatch, stopping beside the koukaku. "You thought you could get away, didn't you?"

"A dove getting help from a ghoul? Disgusting," the koukaku said as she yanked her kagune from the wall, seemingly not caring about the falling debris. She was clearly rather strong, and well aware of it. "We'll show you guys what happens when you mess with us."

"Now it's only your little pet standing in the way," the bikaku said with a sneer in Eyepatch's direction.

Eyepatch raised his hands in the air, shuffling slightly from side to side. "I'm not his pet and I don't want to fight you." He looked down on the ground between them and Amon could hear the sorrow in his voice as he continued, "I'm sorry for what happened to your friend but this won't solve anything."

"Traitor," the koukaku spat out and raised her kagune up high. "How dare you?!"

The koukaku came down hard and fast right towards Eyepatch, who still had his hands raised in surrender. In Amon's confused state he blinked at the sudden movement and as he opened his eyes again Eyepatch was gone. Or more accurately— he was standing a meter to the right, having narrowly escaped the attack.

Amon frowned. Surely the other hadn't managed to dodge the attack so effortlessly? He remembered Eyepatch's fighting and how bad and sloppy it had been— the koukaku's aim must have been off. As well as Amon's perception of it.

The two ghouls in front of them also seemed surprised as they drew back a few meters, leaving Eyepatch and Amon enough room to breathe for a second.

Eyepatch took the chance to look away from the ghouls, glancing at Amon and back, indecisiveness and a touch of fear in his eyes. "I— I can't—"

Amon realized why the other suddenly seemed so tense. He couldn't protect Amon— couldn't even try to protect  _himself_ — without fear of Amon turning him in. Of Amon killing him for it. Because of the fact that he was a ghoul.

Amon has to admit that he himself wouldn't be able to fight like he was now; weak and dizzy. His only real hope of getting out of there was to trust in Eyepatch.

The decision came easier than it probably should have. "I'm not looking."

Eyepatch's eyes widened in surprise before he gave a hesitant smile and nodded back. That smile was all the reassurance Amon needed that he had made the right decision. This person wouldn't hurt anyone if they didn't need to. If they didn't feel like they had to. He had to believe that. If someone found out that a member of the CCG had spared a ghoul, had made personal decisions when it came to upholding the newly established law, then it would threaten the whole system.

Eyepatch straightened up, and just as he turned his back to Amon to face their pursuers he could have sworn he saw Eyepatch's smile die on his lips and getting replaced by a sad expression. Amon blinked as the other's earlier meek and insecure stance got discarded and replaced by a confident fighting stance in an instance.

He guessed it would only be logical for Eyepatch to have become more experienced since they last met, but this was the stance of someone used to violence— someone who neither feared nor avoided it. That didn't fit with the picture he had built of Eyepatch in his head and Amon frowned.

When Eyepatch spoke, it was calm and measured and Amon could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end at the sound of it, "Please stand down. I don't want to hurt you."

The two ghouls seemed to hesitate; the bikaku took a step back before the koukaku grabbed her arm and spoke up, voice tense and angry. "We won't be the ones getting hurt."

Eyepatch nodded, "Very well then."

Suddenly, the two ghouls in front of them seemed to freeze.

Eyepatch cocked his head to the side and from Amon's place behind him he couldn't see the expression on his face; but he could see the fear and insecurity growing on the two ghouls' faces.

"He— Hey," the bikaku said in a suddenly hesitant voice. "I heard something about this. A one-eyes ghoul who was active in the 20th ward some years ago, before the reformation. Strong as shit."

Amon felt cold dread wash over him.  _One-eyed_?

"That's just rumors," the koukaku sneered at her companion.

"Is it?" Eyepatch asked and Amon could almost hear the smile in his voice. Amon desperately tried to piece together what was happening, what the two ghouls were seeing that he wasn't from his position from behind Eyepatch.

"Yes!" The koukaku almost screamed at him. "I heard he was huge, with only one kakugan and several enormous rinkaku. And snow-white hair and black nails…" She trailed off and even at his distance, Amon could see her widening eyes as Eyepatch raised a hand with black nails to touch his white hair in a nonchalant gesture.

"Do continue," Eyepatch said in a soft voice.

The koukaku looked to her companion and hesitated. "It's just a myth. A story people tell to try and convince each other that it's better now than before the reformation, when people like the one-eyed Centipede roamed the streets."

"Oh, I'm a legend now, am I?" Eyepatch asked and there was no mistaking the humor in his voice. Amon felt like the whole world had tilted on its axis as he stood frozen in place; listening to the conversation taking place in front of him. Centipede? Eyepatch couldn't be— Could he?

"Come off it!" The koukaku spit out, seemingly gathering up her courage again. "We know it's just a fairy-tale. You're just some delusional dude who got it into his head to try and mimic a monster he heard about while growing up. Run away now and we won't kill you too."

Amon had to remind himself to breathe as he looked on. He didn't know whether he should try to intervene or not. His spinning head and shaking legs reminded him that he probably wouldn't make a huge difference on the outcome of this fight regardless of what he decided to do.

He looked over at his quinque laying on the ground several meters away from him and wondered if he would be able to reach it before anyone stopped him. He took one small step forward, and the dizziness almost made him fall. That's a no then.

The bikaku nodded, "Yeah, we all know that if Centipede had been real, he would already be dead. No way he'd be running around the alleyways of Tokyo protecting murderous doves."

Eyepatch, or whoever it really was, nodded calmly. "Maybe you're right. Centipede did die a long time ago. But I'm still here."

"See! I told you," the koukaku said to her companion with a confident smirk forming on her face. Eyepatch raised a hand and everyone in the alleyway tensed, but he moved his thumb and pressed down— breaking one of his own fingers, the snap echoing in the quiet alleyway. Amon couldn't hold back a small wince at the sound and the koukaku gave a short laugh, "Well, it seems like we won't have to hurt him, he does it all by himse—"

She was cut off as she hit the wall behind her; bouncing off with a sickening crunch. Amon blinked. He hadn't even seen Eyepatch move.

The bikaku whirled around, "What the fuck?!"

Eyepatch's smile stretched into a joyless grin as he snapped another finger. "Boo."

The kagune that spread from his lower back appeared in an instance and Amon took an involuntary step back at the eerily familiar shape of it. Amon had seen this kagune before— this kagune belonged to the ghoul known as Centipede, not Eyepatch. But maybe the two weren't as separate as he had thought.

The bikaku screamed and scrambled backwards before sending a wide-eyed look down at her fallen companion, who groaned weakly on the ground. A split second later the bikaku shakily straightened up and took a stumbling step towards Centipede— fear clear on her face even as she readied her kagune for attack. "Get away from her you monster!"

Centipede tilted his head and looked at the approaching ghoul, and Amon got a glance of the almost bored look on the other's face. Even though he'd been expecting it, the single red eye on the other's face still managed to make him take a small step back. It was true. He could have sworn he heard a muttered "Disappointing," before Centipede moved again.

His kagune whipped out and struck the bikaku over the chest; sending her flying backwards and landing close to the crumpled form of the muscular woman.

This wasn't even a fight.

Amon felt his mouth open slightly, he knew that Centipede was strong, he had been a highly wanted ghoul for a reason, but seeing him fight up close was another matter. It was an immense difference from their scuffle during the Rabbit-case. Gone was the innocent young man that didn't want to hurt anyone— replaced by the ruthless killer that had instilled fear in so many people before the reformation.

The koukaku staggered to her feet with a groan, cradling the back of her head as she did. She looked at her companion beside her and fell to her knees beside her. "Oh my god. Hey! You okay?"

The bikaku didn't answer as she kept her wide eyes on Centipede; trembling visibly where she sat slumped on the ground.

Centipede started walking towards the two ghouls with slow steps and a joyless smile on his face. The bikaku scrambled to her feet, stumbled slightly, and then took off running. The koukaku swore as she looked after her companion. "What the fuck?!"

She got to her feet, sent Centipede a look, shook her head, muttered, "Fuck this," and took off in the direction of her running companion— looking over her shoulder every other step.

Centipede continued his walk after them; his rinkaku spreading out behind him.

Amon couldn't shake the feeling that it was all  _wrong,_ that this wasn't how the young man in front of him would want things to go. Not really.

Before he had time to think it through, Amon found himself taking a step in their direction and, finally finding his voice again, yelling, "Stop! Don't go after them!"

Centipede froze in the middle of a step and he looked back at Amon with surprise on his face. "But they attacked you?"

Amon was surprised himself. It wasn't that he wanted to let the two ghouls go when he had seen what they were capable of and when he knew that they had access to that new, frightening, kind of gas— it was that something told him not to let Centipede go after them, to not let him hurt them.

"Yes. They were sad and angry," Amon said and he could feel his head clearing of the effects of whatever that gas had been by the second— the dizziness getting replaced by a deep sadness as he looked at the young man in front of him and remembered Eyepatch's innocent sincerity when they had first met. That was a long time ago. "Let them go. If they hurt someone in the future, then the CCG will take care of it." He doubted they would cause trouble for quite some time though; the scare they had gotten tonight would probably be quite effective in deterring them.

Centipede shrugged and turned back around, not sparing another glance at the running ghouls; as if they didn't mean anything to him. Was this really the same person that had begged him not to make him a murderer?

They were finally alone in the alleyway, but Amon couldn't say that he felt a lot safer than he had before. Centipede was frowning and looking at the ground in front of him as if in concentration.

"I guess I should thank you. For saving me," Amon said as he approached Centipede, still feeling a bit apprehensive of the other, but relieved that his legs seemed to carry him without any problems.

Centipede turned around and Amon frowned at the passive expression on the other's face. Then he shook his head and the expression slowly morphed into a hesitant smile. "You're welcome. Sorry, about that and thanks for stopping me," Centipede said with a small and somewhat awkward laugh and Amon was stunned by the sudden young, smiling, man standing in front of him— no traces of Centipede left. "And I was kind off the reason you lost your weapon in the first place. Sorry."

"No— No problem. I didn't realize that you were…" Amon trailed off, feeling very off-kilter in this interaction. His tired brain couldn't fully comprehend the fact that Eyepatch and Centipede were one and the same.

"Alive?" Centipede asked with a sad smile.

"No. Or, well, yes. But I was thinking about the fact that you were the same person I fought years ago when we hunted the daughter."

The small smile disappeared from Centipede's face. "Ah, you remember that."

"Yes," Amon nodded intently before hesitating. "Can I… Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What did you mean when you asked me not to make you a murderer?"

Centipede looked slightly confused. "I meant what I said?"

"But… You're a ghoul?"

"So?"

"So before the reformation, you  _had_ to kill people?"

"No," Centipede said with a small shake of his head, before giving a small laugh, as if remembering something a bit funny, "Actually, that fight was one of my firsts."

Amon remembered the amateurish way in which the other had fought him especially in the beginning, and the pathetically weak punches and felt his own smile tease the edges of his lips upwards, "Yeah, okay, I can see that."

"Will you report me?" Centipede asked in a hesitant voice, before seemingly catching himself. "God, you're an investigator. You have to arrest me."

"You saved me," Amon said in an incredulous tone, eyebrows rising in his surprise. When Centipede didn't seem to take this as an answer Amon shook his head and clarified, "No, I'm not going to arrest you."

Centipede's eyes widened. "Don't you have to?"

"I—" Amon hesitated, "I gave you permission, in a way. I can't punish you for that. It wouldn't feel right." If he had known a couple of years ago that he would be protecting a ghoul, a ghoul that had been highly wanted no less, he would have laughed at the mere thought.

"You didn't seem to have any problem disposing of her for the same reasons though." Centipede said with a closed off expression, nodding towards the fallen woman now lying alone on the ground at the other end of the alley. "Are these new rules so flexible depending on what the investigator at call  _feels_  like?"

"Do you… Do you want me to arrest you?" Amon asked in a hesitant voice, not feeling like he was fully following the conversation.

Centipede was quiet before letting out an audible sigh, shoulders lowering. "No."

"I know the system isn't very good or fair right now, but at least we've made some changes." But even as he said it, Amon knew it wasn't the whole truth. He tried again. "Or I guess I mean to say that  _I'm_ not perfect, but I'm trying."

Centipede looked surprised before the expression slowly morphed into a genuine smile, "You don't have to get my blessing."

"I know… I just don't want to hide behind the system. I guess I'm tired of that."

Centipede nodded as if in understanding. "I knew you were a good person, ever since I first met you."

"I think that's stretching it a bit," Amon said as he rubbed at his neck, "I'm just trying."

"That's what counts in the end, though, isn't it?" Centipede asked and the sudden intensity in his voice took Amon by surprise.

Amon hesitated a second before nodding. "I guess so."

This seemed to satisfy Centipede and he nodded back with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Amon decided that he had had enough of feeling vulnerable for one night and walked down the alley to where his quinque had landed and picked it up; reveling in the feeling of safety that washed over him as soon as he took a hold of the weapon. He made sure to keep the quinque lowered and turned back to Centipede. "By the way, I want to thank you."

"For what?" Centipede asked as he looked away from the weapon in Amon's hands. "You already thanked me for..." Centipede made a vague gesture towards the alleyway as a whole, "this."

Amon shook his head. "Not that, but for opening my eyes when we first met."

"Oh." Centipede looked up in surprise. "I didn't realize you were actually listening back then."

"I think that's the first time I realized that maybe there were more to ghouls than being monsters." Amon heard the shame in his own voice as he spoke. He looked Centipede in the eye and continued, " So thank you for trying. It made a difference. At least for me."

Centipede nodded and looked away, speaking with a thick voice, "I—" He cleared his throat. "I'm glad."

The sincerity in Centipede's voice left little doubt that he was being honest and Amon was almost certain that he saw tears in the other's eyes as he looked away. Amon smiled.

"Can I ask your name? I would love to meet up again and talk, under better circumstances," Amon said with a look around their surroundings; the dark and damp alleyway not being the most comfortable place for prolonged conversations.

Centipede hesitated for a couple of seconds longer before he pressed his mouth into a determined line and nodded. "It's Kaneki Ken."

"Kaneki," Amon tried the name out. It felt strangely anticlimactic that someone who had been such a huge threat to the CCG only years ago, such a strong fighter, had such a regular name. He looked down at the young man in front of him and smiled, it was oddly fitting.

Amon extended his hand towards the other and felt relieved when his arm no longer felt heavy as lead. "My name is Amon."

Kaneki smiled as he grabbed the offered hand. "Amon Koutarou, yes I know."

"So, my reputation precedes me," Amon said before he had time to think better of it.

Kaneki looked slightly uncomfortable as he answered, "Yes, it does."

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry."  _Of course_ ghouls knew the names of investigators. It could make the difference between life and death if they couldn't recognize the name and face of the investigators in their area— at least, that's how it used to be.

Kaneki was quiet as he looked down the alleyway to where the woman Amon had  _taken care off_ earlier still lay.

Amon followed Kaneki's gaze and found himself unable to look away. He realized just how blind he still was; maybe it wasn't as necessary anymore as long as the ghoul didn't break the rules. Or as long as no humans felt like saying that they broke the rules. "...Was she innocent?"

Kaneki tore his gaze away from the woman and looked back at Amon. "Hm?"

Amon nodded towards the body. "Was she innocent?"

"I have no idea," Kaneki admitted with a shake of his head.

"Oh…" Amon trailed off, finally looking away from her and down on the ground. "Right. Well. Okay."

"It's hard for you, isn't it?" Kaneki asked in a wondrous tone of voice.

Amon let out a long breath. "Yes it is."

"I think that's good," Kaneki said and when Amon looked up at him he was smiling. "Can you meet on Thursday?"

"Now? This week?" Amon asked in surprise, he hadn't thought the other would agree to it so quickly. Kaneki's expression changed from smiling to hesitant and Amon hurried to add, "Yes, I can meet this Thursday! When and where?"

Kaneki gave him an incredulous look. "You trust me, then? Enough to meet up?"

"Well, you did just save my life," Amon said with a wry smile.

Kaneki chuckled lightly and smiled back at him. "I guess that's true. What about five outside Kamii University?"

"Kamii?" Amon asked in surprise before shrugging. "Okay, sounds good."

"You're going to be fine by yourself?"

Amon laughed. A couple of years ago he wouldn't have been able to imagine a ghoul asking him if he would be alright by himself. "Yes. Of course. Thank you. I feel much better."

Kaneki nodded. "See you later then. Be careful next time."

Kaneki turned around with a small wave of his hand and a small smile on his face, and just like that he was gone— leaving Amon alone in the dark alleyway.

He took a step forward and was rewarded with stable ground beneath his feet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> I really hope you liked it :)


End file.
